Pet’s Plates

Enchante
Triq Ix Xatt Juan B. Azzopardo,
Senglea
Tel: 2180 7734

Food: 7/10  
Location: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

It was Victory Day; a day that pays homage to the Maltese spirit, celebrating the heroism and bravery of our forefathers. A spirit that made itself felt on numerous occasions throughout Malta’s long and illustrious history. The September 8 national holiday marks three such occasions, spanning over four centuries: the victory over the Turks which brought to an end the Great Siege of 1565, the rebellion against Napoleon’s occupying troops in 1800 and a third victory celebrating the valiant efforts of the Maltese in World War II.

And what better way to celebrate than with food? We headed to Senglea, to the veritable heart of these Vitorja celebrations, and planted ourselves at Enchante – a no frills sort of place serving non-fancy food along the Senglea Waterfront.

This charming promenade overlooking Birgu is dotted with little restaurants, most with corresponding dining areas arranged across the road along the water’s edge. The locals assemble here on summer nights to play tombola.

Enchante is the first restaurant you’ll encounter as you stroll the Senglea Waterfront. It sits comfortably opposite the Vittoriosa parish church and the Malta Maritime Museum across the creek in Vittoriosa. The view is delightful. All dining was being held al fresco, with tables set out on the wide pavement in front of the restaurant. I assume that diners are only crammed into the rather tiny restaurant interior during the cold months.

In as much as we repeatedly ruin this little island of ours, the ongoing Three Cities renovation project has been highly successful. That day, the entire area had come alive. On both sides of the water, the towns were almost animated anew, buzzing with movement and vibrant energy. An atmosphere of festa filled the air. It was contagious and could be felt even as we sat at Enchante, where our tables were closely assembled, creating a truly convivial atmosphere and a sense of community, almost as if we were eating at one, large table.

They were grilled beautifully and simply, allowing the strong, meaty flavour of this fleshy fish to shine

It was, in many respects, a very Maltese day. It was the day of the traditional Regatta boat races off Senglea point, with the Grand Harbour providing the most magnificent of backdrops. It was also the day of the lampuka, at least at our table. The end of summer signals the arrival of this rather special fish to our waters. I say special because many feel that the lampuka (or Dolphin fish) is something quintessentially Maltese, appertaining solely to Malta. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. This flat, blunt-headed fish is a highly migratory species and thus you will find fresh Lampuka served to you in Sicily, just as you will encounter the very same fish in Mexico where it is known as the dorado.

Possibly due to climatic changes, the seasonal, much anticipated yearly abundance of lampuki in our waters has at times dwindled. In Malta, we fish lampuki to about the size were they sit comfortably on a plate.

Perfect, really. But they don’t stop growing! Unless we’ve overfished them, they eventually reach the Pacific, by this time measuring well over a metre in length and weighing over 20 kilos.

They swim on to Hawaii, where they are christened with yet another name, mahi-mahi.  The lampuka is one of the most versatile of fish when it comes to cooking, lending itself to a variety of cooking processes. In Malta we grill them, poach them, oven-bake them, shallow fry them and serve with a piquant tomato sauce or pack them into pies. I’ve never eaten lampuka raw as a carpaccio but it is done.

Our selected fresh fish, fished from the salty, enclosed waters of the Mediterranean, had been weighed by the conscientious waiting staff who dutifully informed us of prices before taking our order.

This is, of course, the correct way to do things. At €15 each, the lampuki at Enchante were well priced. When the lampuki were served, we took the decision to clean them ourselves.

Lampuka possesses the happy faculty of being very easy to clean and fillet and does not have any scales. Ours were young lampuki, an early season catch and very tasty. They were grilled beautifully and simply, allowing the strong, meaty flavour of this fleshy fish to shine.  A few drops of olive oil was all that was required. We had also ordered a paġell (Sea Bream) which had been perfectly grilled. A flurry of little side dishes accompanied the fish; roast potatoes, chips, salad and steamed vegetables. We turned our attention away from all the goings-on in the Grand Harbour and happily tucked in. Prior to the fish, we had also shared a dish of sea urchin pasta that was absolutely divine, along with some lobster and crab tortellacci which, in contrast, were rather mediocre. The chef had also been rather too liberal with his creamy, salmon sauce which greatly overpowered the more delicate tortellacci filling. In continuing our celebration of all things local, we chose a fairly priced Maltese Vermentino from Enchante’s very decent wine list.

I had been delighted to find that Enchante boasts a concise menu. This is always very reassuring, indicating the use of fresh ingredients and an absence of frozen produce. And everything had been fresh, apart from the bland, uniformly-proportioned vegetables served with the fish. These had definitely lived out their final days in a frozen packet.  I had enjoyed our lunch. And this, despite the impressive hoards of flies that plagued the tables at Enchante, making the business of eating a rather tricky one.

We ended the meal with some digestivi on the house, along with some good coffees and a pear and ricotta cake which had very obviously not been prepared in the Enchante kitchen. Nonetheless, it was surprisingly rather good.

As we walked back out of Senglea, we passed the government housing block enjoying fabulous views of Vittoriosa. This particular block comprises a colonial structure, embellished with an elegant colonnade. The gold aluminium frames placed inside the windows flashed and caught my eye, and something died in my soul.